Procrastination

"And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." (Luke 9: 59 -62 KJV)

The persons Jesus called to "follow" him, on this occasion, have well been called the "procrastinating disciples."

These potential disciples of Jesus wanted to delay following him, to "put off" the matter to a later date.

In this dialogue with Jesus, they showed that they were not wholly "unwilling" to follow Christ, but neither were they fulling willing, having other things that they deemed more important "for the time being."

They could delay or postpone following Christ, and dealing with their sin, but he could not delay burying his father, or attending to carnal matters. His is a sad story, but it is one that is characteristic of many sinners who have been confronted with Jesus.

A real disciple is one who has not procrastinated in the matter of his relation with God, of his salvation, but has "gotten around to it."

To "procrastinate" means, in today's vernacular, to "stall," or to "drag one's feet" or to "drag one's heels," to "dilly-dally," or to simply "delay" or "postpone." It is connected with laziness and idleness, and with a lack of wisdom. It involves hesitation and is the opposite of "promptness." It also involves "wasting time" or the "squandering" of time and opportunity.

The opposite of "procrastination" is "diligence." There are several passages in the New Testament that speak of Christian diligence, the thing that remedies the evil of procrastination.

"Diligent" is from the Greek word "spoudazō" and means, according to Strong -

1) to hasten, make haste
2) to exert one's self, endeavour, give diligence

Vine says it means "to hasten to do a thing, to exert oneself, endeavour, give diligence."

"In Gal 2:10, of remembering the poor, AV, "was forward," RV, "was zealous;" in Eph 4:3, of keeping the unity of the Spirit, AV "endeavoring," RV, "giving diligence;" in 1 Th 2:17, of going to see friends, "endeavored;" in 2 Ti 4:9; 4:21, "do thy diligence;" in the following the RV uses the verb "to give diligence:" 2 Ti 2:15, AV, "study;" Tts 3:12, AV, "be diligent;" Hbr 4:11, of keeping continuous Sabbath rest, AV, "let us labor;" in 2 Pe 1:10, of making our calling and election sure; in 2 Pe 1:15, of enabling believers to call Scripture truth to remembrance, AV, "endeavor;" in 2Pe 3:14, of being found in peace without fault and blameless, when the Lord comes, AV, "be diligent.""

The examples given by Vine from the New Testament involves many areas of life, about not procrastinating in visiting friends, family, and neighbors, and of not postponing doing religious service.

We are all guilty, to some degree, and in many ways, of being "procrastinators," in important matters, and such is detrimental to one's quality of life here, and of one's eternal destiny in the hereafter.

"Do not say to your neighbor, "Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow"—when you now have it with you." (Proverbs 3: 28 NIV)

"When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow." (Ecclesiastes 5: 4 KJV)

"I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments." (Psalm 119: 60 KJV)

"I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word." (Psalm 119: 16 NIV)

These verses condemn willful procrastination, especially as it regards "doing good" and of "coming to terms with" Lord God. A man who procrastinates is a man who "neglects" duty and who "squanders" opportunities. They condemn postponing till tomorrow what ought to be done today.

The examples given by Vine, from the New Testament, speak of being negligent in helping the poor. This is common in today's selfish and egotistic society. Most people say to the poor or to charities - "see me tomorrow."

People often even say to themselves, in regard to many well meant plans and opportunities - "One of these days..."

"This is what the LORD Almighty says: "These people say, 'The time has not yet come for the LORD's house to be built.' " Then the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?" Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways. (Haggai 1: 2-5 KJV)

What a word about procrastination in regard to heavenly things, in things pertaining to God! These ungrateful people put themselves first, and put God last. They were quick and diligent to look after their own houses, but the house of God was left to be built "another day" or "tomorrow." They ought to have procrastinated and put off building their own homes till they first done God's business.

Here are some wise maxims about the evils of procrastination.

"A wise person does at once, what a fool does at last. Both do the same thing; only at different times." (Lord Acton)

"Don't put off till tomorrow what can be enjoyed today."

"Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy." (Wayne Dyer)

"You may delay, but time will not, and lost time is never found again." (Ben Franklin)

"There is nothing so fatal to character as half finished tasks." (David Lloyd George)

"Procrastination is opportunity's natural assassin." (Victor Kiam)

"Life, as it is called, is for most of us one long postponement." (Henry Miller)

"Delay is the deadliest form of denial." (C. Northcote Parkinson)

"Procrastination is my sin. It brings me naught but sorrow. I know that I should stop it. In fact, I will--tomorrow!" (Gloria Pitzer)

"There are those of us who are always about to live. We are waiting until things change, until there is more time, until we are less tired, until we get a promotion, until we settle down -- until, until, until. It always seems as if there is some major event that must occur in our lives before we begin living." (George Sheehan)

"Procrastination is the fear of success. People procrastinate because they are afraid of the success that they know will result if they move ahead now. Because success is heavy, carries a responsibility with it, it is much easier to procrastinate and live on the 'someday I'll' philosophy." (Denis Waitley)

"Tomorrow is the day when idlers work, and fool reform, and mortal men lay hold on heaven." (Andrew Young)

"Procrastination is the thief of time: Year after year it steals, till all are fled, and to the mercies of a moment leaves The vast concerns of an eternal scene." (Edward Young)

All so very true!

"How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him. God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?" (Hebrews 2: 3, 4 KJV)

"Elijah went before the people and said, How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him. But the people said nothing." (1 Kings 18:21)

Sinners especially need to heed these words. There is no promise of "tomorrow" for anyone. To postpone listening to God, and of finding forgiveness with him, has been the cause of many souls losing opportunity of salvation.

One of the things that was characteristic of the Lord's faithful people, in the Old Testament, was the fact that they were often said to "rise early in the morning," or to be "early risers," when called to do service to God. Notice these verses.

ABRAHAM rose early to stand before the Lord. (Gen. 19:27)

JACOB rose up early to worship the Lord. (Gen. 28:18)

MOSES rose early to give God's message to Pharaoh. (Exod. 8:20)

MOSES rose early to build an altar to God. (Exod. 24:4)

MOSES rose early to meet God at Sinai. (Exod. 34:4)

JOSHUA rose early to lead Israel over Jordan. (Josh. 3:1)

JOSHUA rose early to capture Jericho. (Josh. 6:12)

JOSHUA rose early to take Ai. (Josh. 8:10)

GIDEON rose early to examine the fleece. (Judg 6:38)

HANNAH and ELKANAH rose early to worship God. (I Sam. 1:9)

A procrasinator is a squanderer and this is against wisdom and scripture.

"He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster (squanderer)." (Proverbs 18: 9)

"He that wasteth his father, and chaseth away his mother, is a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach." (Proverbs 19: 26)

Finally God himself is described as an "early riser." (See Jeremiah 7: 13, 25; 11: 7; 25: 3, 4, 5: 29: 19; etc.) Thus they were not procrastinators. They are our examples.

The bible says - "today is the day of salvation." And, "hear his voice today and live"!


The above non-biblical citations are from http://www.quotecosmos.com/.